Politicians seek meeting with Travelodge CEO after Maidenhead sexual assault case

More than 20 MPs have demanded an urgent meeting with the CEO of Travelodge after a woman was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given her room number and a key card by hotel staff.The MPs said the case of Kyran Smith, 29, who was jailed for seven-and-a-half years last month, raised “deeply concerning” questions. He attacked the woman after a party in December 2022.Jo Boydell was asked to meet MPs and peers to discuss the case, including the chain’s security processes and procedures that led to it offering the victim an “insulting” £30 refund after the incident.Smith was jailed in February after being found guilty of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence. He had managed to get the victim’s room number and a keycard from reception staff at the Maidenhead branch of Travelodge.Smith had lied to staff, telling them that he was the victim’s boyfriend.In a letter to Boydell, the MPs said they were concerned that reception staff at the branch had given Smith a key card to her room. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed staff told her that Smith, who was known to her, had passed their security checks by providing her name.Travelodge later offered the woman, now in her 30s, a £30 refund. It has apologised for how it was handled the offer, which it said was inappropriate under the circumstances. The hotel chain added it was reviewing its room security processes.The letter, which is signed by the former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, said MPs and peers wanted to discuss how Travelodge made the refund decision, what internal review has taken place after the assault, and how it had strengthened security procedures.It says: “The details that have emerged regarding how access to the victim’s room was granted raise serious questions about guest safety, hotel security procedures and the adequacy of the response from Travelodge.”The letter from the Labour MPs Matt Bishop and Jen Craft adds that the incident “raises deeply concerning questions about whether current policies provide sufficient safeguards for guests, particularly women travelling alone”.It has been backed by 26 MPs, all of whom are from Labour apart from the Democratic Unionist Party’s Jim Shannon, who represents Strangford in Northern Ireland. The Labour peer Jane Ramsey is also a signatory.It adds: “Hotels have a fundamental duty of care to the people who stay in them. Guests must be able to trust that when they check into a room – particularly when travelling alone – their privacy and safety must be protected.”A Travelodge spokesperson said Boydell would be replying to MPs on Saturday. A spokesperson said: “We want to apologise to the victim for the way this incident has been handled. “Travelodge adopts industry standard security procedures which were followed at the time of the incident in 2022. “We will carry out a full review of our room security policies to learn from this incident and further strengthen our procedures.”